Nerd in the 'Noke

It's that time of year again. Time for me (and my friend Chris Wieder) to take a stab at predicting the turnout of this year's Academy Awards. The format below is basically the same as my picks were from last year ( see previous blog post ): the categories, the nominees, which nominees from that category that Wieder and I have seen, and our thoughts about that category. We've picked the seven most well known categories, and with a little luck we'll disagree somewhere (I did not read Wieder's picks prior to making my own). Otherwise, what's the fun in having multiple opinions? Wieder is a friend and former co-worker who, I must say, has pretty decent taste in movies. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have seen Winter's Bone as early as I did. Knowing that he and I have many of the same interests when it comes to movies, I will apologize in advance on the off chance that he and I have similar rants concerning the Best Lead Actress ca

As promised earlier in the week, here is an archive post of my picks for last year's Oscars. This was originally posted in a note on facebook because I had not started this blog yet. Picks for this year's Oscars will be posted either later tonight or tomorrow morning. The 83rd Annual Academy Awards will be held tomorrow night. Just in case anyone is counting, 5 of my 7 picks were correct (I botched the scripting categories). So I did this a couple of years ago in a blog on myspace and apparently skipped doing it last year for whatever reason, but these are my picks for who/what films should win at tonight's Oscars. I'm only going over the biggest categories as I really haven't seen any of the foreign films, documentaries, or short films. I'm also going to skip the editing/art direction/music because, to be perfectly honest, I just don't have the technical knowledge to really be able to make a decision. At this point, they are all excellent o

In an attempt to add some (hopefully) fun content other than my usual movie reviews, I've posted a couple of different updates this week. The first was my list of films that I am most looking forward to in 2011. The second follows this brief introduction. It is the first of what I hope I will be able to turn into a somewhat regular feature (well, somewhat regular in relation to my own ability to keep up with regular posts): the guest review. Also, keep your eyes open later this week for my Oscar picks for this year. I'd hate to boast, but I did pretty well with the picks last year. I also hope to have one or two guests make their picks as well. I may even post last year's picks here just for the heck of it, as they occurred before I started this blog. Thanks for checking in. I hope you enjoy what you've read. As always, feel free to leave feedback!

The inaugural guest review was submitted by a friend and co-worker who, quite possibly, 'wastes' as much time on movies as I do. Ladies and Gentlemen, without further ado, a review for Unknown by one Mr. Scott Abbott: WARNING: Scott was able to stay pretty spoiler free in regards to the specifics of Unknown's plot. He does however, manage to completely blow Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince out of the water. I'm not sure that between the book, the movie, and the internet that there is anyone that this warning really applies to, but you've been warned just in case. Unknown (2011), PG-13, 113 minutes - I just got back from seeing Unknown with my good friend - that dude that someone needs to check his brain - and let me tell you, I should have checked mine before I even took my seat in the theater. If there was a time that I wish I could have gone to see a movie with a blank mind, this was it. Here is why: if you have seen the previews, you have

I have little doubt that as the year goes on other films will make themselves known, but as of today, this is my list of the ten movies that I am most looking forward to this year (luckily none of them have been released yet so I'm not late with my list). I have provided trailer links where available and tentative release dates. Here we go, in reverse order: 10b. Super 8 (June 10) - Here's another film from the mind of JJ Abrams. And with it we get more classic Abrams secrecy. I chose this trailer because it gives us a little better idea of what's going on than the Super Bowl spot did. 10a. Green Lantern (June 17) - A couple months ago, Green Lantern would have been much higher on this list. The current Geoff Johns run on the Green Lantern comic has been amazing and the character has a ton of potential on the big screen, but the trailer comes off as a little more campy than I had anticipated. I hope the movie plays better. The cast is pretty solid with

The Eagle (2011), PG-13, 114 minutes - I wasn't really sure what to expect going into The Eagle. On one hand, it is a Roman epic, which is generally the type of film I jump all over. On the other hand, The Eagle's star is Channing Tatum. And in the past, the only movie that he starred in that I enjoyed was Stop-Loss. He tends to headline 'chick flicks' (not that that's a bad thing, they just don't interest me at all) but definitely has the potential to be a leading action man. So, walking out of the theater with a couple friends after watching The Eagle, I was pleasantly surprised with what I had just seen. Tatum plays Marcus Aquila a young Roman Centurian who strives to find out what happened to Rome's storied Ninth Legion, and as a result, what happened to his father (the commander of the Ninth) so that he can clear the family's name. He is joined in his quest by his British slave Esca (Jamie Bell). The relationship between Marcus and Esca is

Rabbit Hole (2010), PG-13, 91 minutes - I have already seen all ten of this year's Oscar nominees for Best Picture, so I have also seen most of the Best Actor/Actress nominees. One nominee that I had not yet seen was Nicole Kidman's performance in Rabbit Hole. It came to the Grandin a week or so ago so I jumped on the chance to knock another nominee off of the 'need to see before the Oscars' list. Rabbit Hole shows us the story of a couple (Becca and Howie, played by Kidman and Aaron Eckhart) just eight months removed from the tragic death of their young son (he chased the family dog into the street and was hit by a car), and how they are - or more importantly in Becca's case, how she isn't - coping with their loss. You also see how this effects those around them - the neighbors who invite them to a neighborhood cookout, the younger sister who just found out that she's pregnant, the mother who has also experienced the loss of a son (albeit an older, n

The Mechanic (2011), R, 93 minutes - The Mechanic is the latest entry into the Jason Statham library of action flicks as well as being a remake of the 1972 Charles Bronson film of the same name. I haven't seen Bronson's original so I won't be able to compare and contrast (although I am curious to see it now). Statham plays Arthur Bishop, a hitman, an assassin, but prefers to be called a 'mechanic' because he 'fixes problems'. He works for an organization that employs many mechanics that carry out assignments that range anywhere from personal grudges to political gain. After one job, Arthur takes his mentor's (Harry McKenna played by Donald Sutherland) lost and underachieving son Steve (Ben Foster) under his wing. He teaches Steve what it takes to be a mechanic and even let's Arthur carry out one of his assignments. Steve develops a taste for a mechanic's work and begins helping Arthur with jobs, which the organization that Arthur works f